[ the blow, to jayce's luck, only throws his arm sideways and nicks his limb with a pinch of electricty— all of the brute impact is thrown right into viktor. the surge of horror that destabilizes jayce, for good, was this. initially, all he hears is a crackling white noise humming against his eardrums. his lips move, he says his partner's name, but he can't hear it himself. only the vibration of it thrumming from throat to tongue. he loses count of how many times he says viktor, from the moment he tries to bolt and his leg disagrees, forcing a jounce in his quickened pace, to when he drops to his knees by viktor's side. ]
Viktor?! Viktor—
[ a strangle of a whine slices his words, makes his panting desperate and erratic; his fingers shake as they hover above viktor, and jayce could only hear his heart and how it races so fast he feels like its going to stop, and he'll die along with it. the glow of viktor's hexcore-touched limbs oscilate purple, and jayce remembers—
he remembers, too well, what this brings him back to. he relives the totaling anguish of viktor's death, pulling his broken body from the rubble and refusing to let him die. he checks his chest, he's— breathing. he wasn't he couldn't let him go. he just couldn't fathom living a life without him— the nos that cascade from his trembling lips don't stop until they've melded with inconprehensible weeping, even if he's groggily spoken to. jayce's immediate action to scoop him into his arms, leave his hammer and viktor's crutch behind— hold viktor close and limp as fast as he fucking could.
he's afraid to feel the uneven cracks in his ribs, or how his top half would keep dislocating from his lower with every step he took. he's so afraid he doesn't realise that isn't what's happening. he could even smell the dust and shimmer of a magical explosion when it's not there at all. it takes what feels like ages to get to the caravan's back doors, swinging it open, placing viktor so gently inside, slamming the doors to trap them within—
and kneel beside him. he's trying his best to speak, to say something that wasn't garbled and, and broken and completely . . . leaving him in far greater shambles than seeing viktor alive just a few moments ago. ]
Viktor? Viktor— [ a gasp, ] Please—
[ he's going to lose his mind. it feels like a boulder has fallen on his chest, and he can't lift it off. he's frozen, it's crushing him, he can't breathe— ]
cw: probably a panic attack (or one to come) ðŸ˜
Viktor?! Viktor—
[ a strangle of a whine slices his words, makes his panting desperate and erratic; his fingers shake as they hover above viktor, and jayce could only hear his heart and how it races so fast he feels like its going to stop, and he'll die along with it. the glow of viktor's hexcore-touched limbs oscilate purple, and jayce remembers—
he remembers, too well, what this brings him back to. he relives the totaling anguish of viktor's death, pulling his broken body from the rubble and refusing to let him die. he checks his chest, he's— breathing. he wasn't he couldn't let him go. he just couldn't fathom living a life without him— the nos that cascade from his trembling lips don't stop until they've melded with inconprehensible weeping, even if he's groggily spoken to. jayce's immediate action to scoop him into his arms, leave his hammer and viktor's crutch behind— hold viktor close and limp as fast as he fucking could.
he's afraid to feel the uneven cracks in his ribs, or how his top half would keep dislocating from his lower with every step he took. he's so afraid he doesn't realise that isn't what's happening. he could even smell the dust and shimmer of a magical explosion when it's not there at all. it takes what feels like ages to get to the caravan's back doors, swinging it open, placing viktor so gently inside, slamming the doors to trap them within—
and kneel beside him. he's trying his best to speak, to say something that wasn't garbled and, and broken and completely . . . leaving him in far greater shambles than seeing viktor alive just a few moments ago. ]
Viktor? Viktor— [ a gasp, ] Please—
[ he's going to lose his mind. it feels like a boulder has fallen on his chest, and he can't lift it off. he's frozen, it's crushing him, he can't breathe— ]